rogers



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HIRAM D. ROGERS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,223, dated July 10,1883. Application filed J une 14, 1882. iNo model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, 'HIRAM D. ROGERS, of New York city, in the countyand State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in theManufacture of Electrical Conductors, which improvement is fully setforth in the following specification.

This invention has reference, first, to the formation of a tubularconductor or pipe by braiding or otherwise arranging wires, ribbons, orthe like upon a core or mandrel, and then uniting the several strands byelectro-deposit; second, to the simultaneous formation byelectro-deposition of a number of wires in and upon an insulatingenvelope or support; third, to the protection of insulated conductors tobe sheathed or incased inlead pipe by plating or connecting theinsulating material with metal before running them through the leadpipepress; fourth, to the new products or articles produced by the aboveimprovements;

and, lastly, to special combinations of con ductors in a cable designedto secure strength with economy of material and space.

In the accompanying drawings is represented a conducting-cable made inaccordance with the invention, Figure 1 being a side view with differentlayers exposed, and Fig. 2 a crosssection.

A is the central hollow conductor or tube; 13, a coating of insulatingmaterial thereon; O, a second tubular conductor enveloping theinsulating-coating B; D, insulating material; E, a series of conductorsembedded in said insu lating material D F, a protecting shell or platingof metal, and G an exterior sheath or pipe of lead.

The conductor A is formed by braiding, weaving, twisting, plaiting,winding, or 0th erwise arranging a series of metal wires,strips,ribbons, or the like on a suitable core or mandrel, and then, havingimmersed the whole in an electrolytic solution or electroplating-bath,depositing by electricity from the solution upon the conducting-base ofbraided or twisted wires or the like a coherent mass of metal, which.attaches the several wires together and unites them into a single tube.The electrodeposit and the base may both be of copper; or, if desired,they may be of other suitable metal or metals. When the base of braidedthereon. .sulating material which serves as a core, or to wires or thelike is able to sustain itself, it is or may be removed from the core ormandrel before placing it in the electroplating-bath. The deposit orelectroplating is made of any desired thickness, so that the conductorwill be either flexible or rigid, as may be required. The conductor thusformed is coated with insulating material, B, in any ordinary or suitable way. The material used may be cotton or silk soaked in paraffine,rubber, gutta-percha, or other known or suitable insulating material.

The conductor 0 is formed by braiding,

plaiting, weaving, winding, or otherwisesuitably arranging insulatedwires, strips, or ribbons of copper or other metal around the insulating material B, and then depositing by electrolysis copper or othersuitable metal It is preferred to black-lead the incoat it with metallicpaint, so as to favor the deposit of metal in the interstices of thebraided wire. The removable core or mandrel for forming the conductor Amay in like manner be black-leaded or painted.

The insulating material 13 may be applied and the wires of theconductor 1) braided over the applied material in the same machine,simultaneously or successively.

The conductor 0 is coated with insulating material, in which are left orformed a series of open channels extending in straight lines lengthwiseof the cable or spirally around the same or in other suitable direction.These channels are formed by strips, or they are made by a suitable toolin a body of plastic insulating material or in other suitable way. Thewalls of the channels are black-leaded or coated with metallic paint orotherwise rendered conducting, and, the cable being placed in anelectroplating -bath, copper or other metal is deposited in saidchannels until a se= ries of conductors of the required thickness areobtained. If desired, wires or conductingstrips may be laid inthechannels as foundations for the deposit. After the conductors E areformed they are covered with the insulating material D. The saidmaterial is then black-leaded or otherwise rendered conducting at thesurface, and is covered with a plate or protecting-shell, F, after whichthe cable is passed through the hollow core and die of a pipe-press, andthe leaden sheath or tube G is pressed thereon, as well understood forenveloping conductors in leaden pipes. The object of the sheath orplating F is to protect the i11- sulating material beneath during theapplication of the leaden sheath. Heretofore great difficulty has beenexperienced in coating insulated conductors with lead pipe by means of apipe-press, because of the melting or shifting of the gutta-percha orother insulating material when subjected to the high temperature (about400 Fahrenheit) at the die of the press. By the application of theprotective shell or plating F, which is made of metal not fusible atthat temperature, the insulation is preserved from injury. The centralconductor, A, being hollow, may receive one or more small insulatedconductors, or may be used for conveying liquids or gases.

Modifications may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and portions of theinvention may be used separately. For example, the central conductor maybe a solid wire, to an swer the purpose of a conductor or for strength,if used for aerial lines, or it can be a tube made by drawing or othersuitable way. Outside the wires E a series of similar wires may beplaced, with or without the interposition of a tubular conductor, suchas 0. Instead of braiding bare wires to form conductor A andelectroplating them, it may be formed, like conductor 0, ofinsulatedwires braided, woven, or otherwise suitably arranged and united byelectroplating. The braided conductor may be tubes, if desired. Theshell or plating F, to protect the insulation in applying the leadensheath, may be used for single wires as well as for cables. An improvedcable may be formed of a number of ordinary conductors, or wires may beembedded in insulating material be tween concentric conductors ofordinary construction, or of the improved construction of braided wiresunited by electroplating. The plating F and leaden sheath G may beutilized as a conductor, if desired. In some cases the electro-depositon the braided wires may be omittedas, for example, when the wires aretightly braided or woven-the ends in such case being secured by plating,solder, or othcrwise.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner of carryingthe same into effect, what I claim is- 1. The method of forming atubular eonductor or pipe by arranging wires, strips, or the like arounda core or center, and then dcpositing metal thereon by electrolysis, tounite the strands, substantially as described.

2. A tubular conductor or pipe having a base of wires, strips, or thelike united by an electro deposit or plating, substantially asdescribed.

3. The method of forming electrical conductors for cables by providinggrooves or channels in insulating material, adapting the surface of saidgrooves or channels to receive an electro-deposit, and depositing metalin said grooves or channels simultaneously, substantially as described.

4. In the manufacture of leadincased conductors by a pipe-press, themethod of pro tecting the insulating material by enveloping the same ina metallic shell or plating before passing through the pipe-press,substantially as described.

5. An electrical conductor having a metal shell or plating outside theinsulating material, and a leaden sheath applied to said shell orplating, substantially as described.

6. An electrical conductor having a hollow tubular conductor at thecenter, and a series of conductors arranged about said hollow eonductorat a suitable distance and insulated, substantially as described.

7. An electric cable or compound conductor comprising a centralconductor, a tubular c011- ductor surrounding the same, a series ofconductors around said tubular conductor, a leaden sheath, and aprotective metallic shell or plating inside said sheath, said conductorsbeing separated from each other and from said shell or plate byinsulating material, substantially as described.

8. A tubular conductor formed of insulated wires woven, braided,twisted, or similarly arranged, and united by electroplating,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

H. D. ROGERS. Witnesses JOHN MoCLURn, GEO. E. Macov.

